The present invention relates generally to image-forming devices, and particularly to methods of detecting the presence of packaging materials within image-forming devices.
Manufacturers typically pre-install some of the components and supplies into image-forming devices prior to shipping and distributing their product. Reducing the overall size of the package allows the manufacturers to distribute a greater number of image-forming devices in a single shipment thus minimizing the overall shipping and distribution costs, which translate into lower consumer prices. However, reducing the package size in this manner also requires securing the pre-installed components and supplies to prevent damaging the image-forming devices during shipment.
To protect against damage, manufacturers generally insert packaging materials within the image-forming device. The packaging materials may comprise, for example, sheets of cardboard, ties, plastic, styrofoam, and the like, and substantially prevent movement of the components and supplies during shipment. When purchased, the consumer should remove each of these packaging materials before powering on the image-forming device. Failure to remove the packaging materials could result in damage to the image-forming device. Generally, instructions on removing the packaging materials from within the image-forming device are included with an installation guide that is shipped with the image-forming device. However, some customers fail to heed these instructions or forget to remove all of the packaging materials.